Neil Oatley: Designing World Championships With McLaren | F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast

McLaren’s prestige in Formula 1 is built on legendary success. The team has won eight Constructor titles and produced some of the most distinguished World Champions to grace the sport. That history wouldn’t exist without the genius of people like Neil Oatley. His wisdom and expertise has served F1 for nearly half a decade. Neil first made a name for himself as a race engineer at Williams in the late 1970’s, playing a huge part in the team’s first Grand Prix victory and subsequent World Championships. But it was as McLaren’s chief designer when Neil really certified his status as one of the most influential engineers of all time. From 1989 to 1999, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Mika Hakkinen all won World Championships in cars designed by Oatley. In a fascinating conversation with Tom Clarkson, Neil relives some of the most iconic memories from his extraordinary career. He reveals what it was like to work with some of the greatest drivers and to have a front-row seat for Senna and Prost’s fierce rivalry. Plus, Neil tells Tom how the role of engineer and driver has evolved, how he’s still helping McLaren today, and much more.

04:46 – McLaren today
10:00 – Winning with Williams
36:32 – Joining McLaren
43:17 – Prost and Senna’s rivalry
51:21 – Suzuka 1989: a clash of champions
59:57 – Top 3 drivers Neil’s worked with
01:07:08 – Hamilton’s unexpected competitiveness

Follow, rate and review F1 Beyond The Grid and share this episode using #F1BeyondTheGrid.

For more F1® videos, visit https://www.Formula1.com

Follow F1®:
https://www.instagram.com/F1
https://www.facebook.com/Formula1/
Tweets by F1
https://www.twitch.tv/formula1
https://www.tiktok.com/@f1

#F1